1. [noun] A declaration issued by a government agency declaring someone the inventor of a new invention and having the privilege of stopping others from making, using or selling the claimed invention; a letter patent.
2. [noun] A specific grant of ownership of a piece of property; a land patent.
3. [noun] Patent leather: a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for shoes and accessories.
4. [verb] To successfully register an invention with a government agency; to secure a letter patent.
5. [adjective] (biology) open, unobstructed, expanded.
6. [adjective] Explicit and obvious.
7. [adjective] (of flour) that is fine, and consists mostly of the inner part of the endosperm
8. [adjective] Open; unconcealed; conspicuous.
9. [adjective] Open to public perusal; said of a document conferring some right or privilege.
10. [adjective] Protected by a legal patent.
11. [noun] A document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention.
12. [noun] An official document granting a right or privilege.
13. [verb] Obtain a patent for; 'Should I patent this invention?'.
14. [verb] Grant rights to; grant a patent for.
15. [verb] Make open to sight or notice; 'His behavior has patented an embarrassing fact about him'.
16. [adjective] (of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage; 'patent ductus arteriosus'.
17. [adjective] Clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment; 'the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields'; 'evident hostility'; 'manifest disapproval'; 'patent advantages'; 'made his meaning plain'; 'it is plain that he is no reactionary'; 'in plain view'.
